Stocking-supporter



(No Model.)

J. A. HOUSE. Stocking Supporter.

No. 229,889.. Patented July 13, 1880.

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By his Atlm-neys' or miw/a ILPETERS. FHOTC-UTHOGHAFHFR. WASHINGTON. D 04 I UNITED STATES PATENT CFFIcE.

JAMES A. HOUSE, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

STOCKlNG-SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 229,889, dated July 13, 1880.

Application filed May 24, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JAMES ALFOR-D HoUsE, of Bridgeport, in the county of Fail-field and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Supporting Stockings, 850., of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in that type of garment-supporters in which hookand-eye or loop-and-stud clasp devices are employed in connection with double-ended suspcndln g straps or hands of webbin g, the hook or stud part of the clasp being attached to the longer end of the strap and the loop or eye to the of the stocking or fabric or other garment clamped over the stud or hook and between it and the loop.

As now commonly and preferably constructed, these suspendingstraps or hands of webbing are each bifurcated, or have two parts diverging from their middles, where they are interlooped or buckled with the main or supporting strap suspended from the hips or shoulders of the wearer, and each depending branch or fork of the suspending-strap, so bifurcated by connection at its middle with the main strap, is double-ended, as above explained.

Myimprovements in this old andwell-known class of supporters relate to certain peculiarities in the clasp devices and in the manner of attaching them to the straps or suspendingwebbings, as hereinafter first fully described, and then specifically designated by the claims.

In the accompanying drawings of my improvements, Figure 1 represents the loop or eye; Fig. 2, the hook or stud; Fig. 3, a portion of the'suspending-webbing with the clasp devices secured thereto, and Fig. at the manner of clasping the garment.

The general operation of devices of this kind, whether made by stamping from sheet metal or by bending wires or rods, being well understood and fully explained in various patents, there will here be given only such description as is deemed requisite to a complete understanding of the improvements herein claimed.

The drawings showa portion only of one double-ended fork of the commonly-employed shorter end thereof, and the edge bifurcated suspending strap or webbing. A one-part strap could obviously be used; but a bifurcated one, with the clasping devices at the en d of each branch, for holding a stocking atble machinery. The loop A is made of a single piece of wire ben t back from its nose or frontend,

given the proper bulge or swell, and then bent inward at both sides, forming the neck a, thence outwardlybent and returned to form the lateral loops or shank-bows C C, and again bent outward to form the shank ends or arms D D, completing the loop part of the clasp. The loop extends from its front to its shank ends in the same horizontal plane, or is flat on top and bottom, as all the bends are made in the one longitudinal plane. The hook or stud part B of the device is formed at its shank portion 1) b d d to correspond with the similar part of the loop A, and slots or spaces ef and ef in the respective shanks of the two parts are provided, as shown, and for a purpose soon to be explained. The stud or hook part proper of the stud portion B is formed by bending the wire laterally and at or near'a right angle at the neck g, and then forwardly at or near a right angle to the lateral neck, forming a hook proper or button or head, G. The wire is shown as flattened somewhat at the head, and is preferably so formed. If flat barssuch as previously-flattened wires-are used, this spreading or additional flattening of the hookbutton is desirable.

The clasp-sections A and B are secured to the ordinarily-employed straps or suspendingwebbings, which, as is well understood, are commonly formed by'buckling, doubling, or looping the webbing H at its middle, so as to form two ends or depending diverging supporting-straps, a portion of one only of which straps is shown by the drawings. Each of such diverging ends is doubled or folded back upon itself and stitched at It, thus forming the loop-ended short arm I of the bifurcated webbing, in the loop t' of which the shank of the clasp-loop A is firmly secured by stitching K. The thread forming these stitches K passes through the slots or spaces f f, parallel with the slots 0 e, and between the shank ends D D and the members or arms of the bows O C, respectively adjacent thereto, and the shankarms D D are outside or above the row of stitches, while the webbing loop engages the slots or spaces a e, as will readily be seen by inspection of the drawings. In thisway a broad bearing for and strong attachment of the loop-shank is secured, preventing any movement of the loop A independently of the webbing end 1.

The long arm J of the bifurcated webbing H is provided by the extension of the webbing end from the stitching h to the loop end L, formed by doubly folding the webbing, the end being first folded upward or backward, and then under and downward, so as to besecured by the stitching 7c passing through the slots or spaces f f of the shank of the hook or stud B, in manner here readily understood from what has been explained with relation to the way of securing the loop or eye A.

It will be seen that the shank ends of both the loop A and the stud B are covered by the webbing. Parts of the bows O and b are also covered, and in this way the contact of the metal clasp with the person of the wearer is prevented.

Clasps of this kind may be produced economically and rapidly, and by using the round rods or wires there are no angles or sharp edges to cut or rapidly wear the webbing. Moreover, as each part of the clasp-the loop and the stud-is prevented from having any motion in or movement independently of its respective loop end of the webbing, there is no cutting of or abrading wear upon the webbing, and no possibility of derangementsuch, for instance, as by the rocking back or turning up of the loop A in the loop end i of the webbing. The lines of stitching by which the loop and stud shanks are secured pass not only along the slots ff and f f, respectively, but across or around both sides of the separated shanks and between these sides or in the longitudinal spaces, as will readily be understood from inspection of the drawings.

In this way there is provided a wide or double bearing, formed partly by the interlooping at c c and e c of the respective ends of the webbing with the loop and the stud, and D D and d (1 of the partly by the shank ends Bing loop and stud, webbing ends above the stitches K and k, as shown and before described.

I do not claim, broadly, either separately considered or in combination, hooks or studs and eyes or loops for garment-supporters with protected or embedded shanks; neither do I broadly claim forming clasp devices of wire; nor do I claim every way of stitching the clasps to the webbing, nor the suspending support with bifurcated ends of different lengths, as all such features, broadly considered, are older than my invention.

I claim as of my own invention- 1. The loop or eye A, having theetwo side shank-bows with the slots or spaces 0 c, and the two side shank ends with slots or spaces between them and the shank-bows and parallel with the slots of said bows, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. The hereinbefore-described wire loop or eye A, formed, as shown, with the neck a, the separated shank-bows at opposite sides, havthe webbing-loop engaging slots or spaces 0 e, and the separated shank ends at opposite sides, with the slots or spaces ff between them and the shank-bows, for the purpose set forth.

3. The hereinbefore-described bentwire hook or stud 13, formed in one piece, as shown, with the head or button, angular neck g, separated shank-bows at opposite sides, having the slots or spaces 0 0, and the separated shank ends at opposite sides, with the slots or spaces f f between them and said shank-bows, for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, substantially as hereinbefore set forth, of the webbing having the loop-ended arms I and J of different lengths, the stud or hook B, having the bows b b and shank ends d d, and secured to the longer arm of the webbing by the stitching k and loop end thereof, and the loop or eye A, having the bows G (J and shank ends D, D, and interlooped with and stitched to the shorter arm of the webbing, as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JAMES ALFORD HOUSE.

Witnesses:

OHARLEs H. DIMOND, JAMES CARR.

respectively embedded in the '1 

